The vowel system of Qatari Arabic: Evidence for peripheral/non-peripheral distinction between long and short vowels Aisha Al-Mazrouei Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Qatar University aishaalmazroui@hotmail.com Aisha Negm Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Qatar University ayeshanegmbf@gmail.com Vladimir Kulikov Department of English Literature and Linguistics, Qatar University vkulikov@qu.edu.qa Arabic has a vowel system with three long and three short monophthongs. One of the parameters that accounts for qualitative differences between long and short vowels across languages is tenseness/laxness of vowels located on the peripheral/non-peripheral tracks in the vowel space. The present study investigates acoustical cues (F1, F2, and dura- tion) of vowels using the data obtained from 21 speakers of Qatari Arabic. The vowels were produced in four phonetic contexts: labial, alveolar, uvular, and pharyngeal. The results revealed considerable qualitative differences between long and short vowels. The long vowels were articulated at the periphery of vowel space; the short vowels occupied more centralized positions. The co-articulatory effect of the preceding consonant was more prominent in short vowels. Short high vowels /iu/ were lowered toward the mid position; short low /a/ was fronted; long low /a˘/ was retracted and raised. The findings suggest that short vowels in Qatari Arabic are lax and non-peripheral. 1 Introduction Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) has a vowel system with six pure vowels: long /a˘ i˘ u˘/ and short /aiu/. 1 Historically, long and short vowels were believed to occupy the same posi- tions at the extremes of the vowel triangle and differ only in duration (Al-Ani 1970, Watson 2002). Local varieties of Arabic, however, reveal patterns that deviate from MSA, suggesting ongoing or completed sound changes. Egyptian Arabic, for example, demonstrates fronting and raising of the low vowels to the front open or open-mid position /Q ∼ E/ (Watson 2002). Similar raising and fronting of short /a/ is observed in Iraqi Arabic (Fathi & Qassim 2020). Palestinian Arabic reveals lowering of short high vowels /iu/ toward a more central position 1 MSA has two diphthongs, /aj/ and /aw/, which are often realized as long monophthongs /e˘/ and /o˘/ in vernacular dialects. They are not discussed in this paper. Journal of the International Phonetic Association, page 1 of 19 © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The International Phonetic Association. doi:10.1017/S0025100323000117 https://doi.org/10.1017/S0025100323000117 Published online by Cambridge University Press